Lake Erie

The identity of a woman whose half decayed body washed up on Lake Erie went unreported for 43 years.

The woman in the “disco style” clothing was ultimately identified on March 30, which was the same day that her body was found more than 40 years ago. The City of Sandusky Police Department said that she went by the name Patricia Greenwood.

Det. Eric Costante told CBS affiliate WOIO, “We were able to put a real name to our Jane Doe.”

Before technology advanced enough to extract DNA from the body’s skeletal remains and create a family tree to trace the woman’s identity, the cold case had haunted the Sandusky, Ohio, police department.

According to the organization’s website, the Porchlight Project, a nonprofit devoted to funding DNA testing for unsolved cases in Ohio, has offered to pay for the required testing.

According to Porchlight Project’s website, Costante used the money raised to send a tissue sample to Bode Technology, a forensic lab that works closely with the nonprofit.

According to police, Greenwood had addresses in a number of Michigan cities, including Traverse City, Bay City, and Saginaw. According to police, she came from a family of 12 children who were all placed for adoption throughout the state of Michigan.

Investigators learned Greenwood might have been a sex worker from his surviving siblings. According to Costante, Greenwood was “transient by nature” and absent “for long periods of time.” Police reported that she was 32 years old when she vanished.

Police believe that Greenwood’s death may have been a homicide.

“She had significant injuries to the right side of her body, including a broken femur and pelvis,” Costante told WOIO. “Our next steps are to try and find out what indeed happened to her.”

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